If the Engine Room's ARockin'
by Ellislash
Summary: What if Ellis lived on Shadow? Set before the main show begins. Ellis/Kaylee, some adult concepts. I don't own anybody or anything and I'm nowhere near as good at dialogue as Joss Whedon, but I gave it my best shot.


"Weren't you born on Shadow, sir?"

"That I was, Zoe, but I fail to see the relevance of that particular fact."

Mal's first officer leaned back against the railing and regarded him knowingly, one eyebrow raised and a slight smirk twisting the corner of her plush mouth. There wasn't a thing he said that could fool her for a minute.

"Uh-huh," she said condescendingly. "And you're sure we're not going to be assaulted by childhood enemies the second we hit atmo?"

The captain adopted a face of mock offense, eyes wide and innocent.

"Enemies? _Me_? How could you even suggest such a thing? I'm hurt."

"Oh, yeah," Zoe sighed with resignation. "This is gonna go _great_."

Her CO opened his mouth to snap back, but a cheerful announcement echoed through the cargo bay over the intercom and for a moment gave the illusion that the captain was speaking with Wash's voice.

"Landing in ten, everybody. Inara, you're good to go!"

Mal perked up, glad for an excuse to end the inevitably embarrassing conversation. He sauntered over to the com panel to reply to their pilot, one hand absentmindedly resting on his holstered revolver as he leaned towards the mic.

"Be right there, Wash. Take us in easy."

He sprang up the steps with a graceful energy, giving Zoe a teasing look on his way past. She fell in behind with a good-natured roll of her eyes.

* * *

><p>Kaylee watched the engine spin down like a mother watching her child fall asleep. When the glowing <em>thrum<em> fell silent she smiled softly, and petted the junction box before grabbing a few tools. The captain had promised shore leave on this job, but the left stabilizing foot had seemed a bit shaky at their last mooring. She strapped on her welding helmet and flipped up the visor on her way to the cargo bay – a little outdoor work could be its own kind of relaxing.

"...catch you rustlin' cattle I'll brand you my own self, are we clear?" Mal's stern voice came echoing down the hall.

"Who said anythin' 'bout cattle?" Jayne asked impudently, with his usual lecherous edge. "Skirts need rustlin' too, heh heh..."

The mechanic shook her head in amusement as she followed the rest of the crew outside. The big bay door was open and a hot, dry breeze brew through it; like so many of the outer moons, Shadow was a wild and dusty place. It reminded Kaylee of home.

Zoe and Wash stood by the mule, pointedly ignoring the conversation going on a few meters away. The captain had a small bag over his shoulder and was clearly scolding their gunman, but the youngster ignored them all and instead set up camp by _Serenity_'s port landing gear. Her toolbox kicked up a small puff of dirt when she plunked it down, and she squinted at the articulated metal with intense concentration.

"Looks like you're stuck with me again, kiddo," Wash sighed as he watched his wife drive away. "Cap' says we can head into town when they come back, though."

"Shiny," Kaylee muttered, not really listening. Baby needed fixin' and what-all else was goin' on could wait.

"Aaand she's gone," the pilot sighed, unsurprised at her preoccupation. "Have fun... I'll be on the bridge if you need me."

"Mm-hmm."

Wash shook his head with a world-weary smile and retreated into the relative cool of the ship. The mechanic only peripherally noticed when his grubby orange flight suit stopped reflecting sun into her eyes, and soon she was in her own private 'verse. Only her hands and the damaged metal under them existed; she didn't feel the heat of the day, or the sweat that collected under her hair. And she certainly didn't notice her audience.

It was only when she clicked off the plasma torch and raised her visor that she even took a moment to remember where she was. After an hour of work she'd only secured the surrounding leg-beams, and the real problem was the huge u-joint that was near as big as her whole body.

She let out a small sigh and sat back on her heels, rolling her head around to stretch the cramped muscles. Just as her neck let out a satisfying little _pop_ her gaze caught on a muscular figure crouched in the dust not three feet away. She yelped with surprise and the figure turned, letting light fall on a cheerful, chiseled face with bright blue eyes. Kaylee steadied herself against the ship and remembered her manners just in time to keep from staring – Hell if this newcomer wasn't straight-ways _gorgeous_.

"Well howdy there, ma'am! Sorry, I didn't mean ta scare ya none." The young man flashed a broad smile that sent Kaylee's blood rushing to several different parts of her body.

"H-howdy," she replied unsteadily, pulling the welding helmet off and hastily re-tying her hair. "I ain't any kinda ma'am, though – call me Kaylee. Can I help you?"

"Aw hell, I'm bein' rude," the stranger admonished himself, smacking a hand to his forehead with a cockeyed grin. "Name's Ellis. I saw y'all break atmo an' noticed this here port stabilizer was loose, figured I could lend a hand – I'm a mechanic, see, me an' my buddy Keith run a shop in town – but anyways, I got here an' saw you workin' already, an'..." Ellis trailed off, a small blush darting across his cheeks. Kaylee felt her heart flutter.

"I don't mind you watchin'," she said coyly. "Matter a' fact, if you're a mechanic... D'you know your way 'round a Firefly?"

Her guest nodded enthusiastically.

"My Pa allus said it was a crime they stopped makin' 'em. Said they're the best damn boats in th' sky, if ya know how ta talk to 'em."

"Wanna give me a hand?" the young woman asked, grinning. This boy was beautiful _and_ understood her precious ship – she was already in love.

"Well, sure! Yer goin' fer th' secondary couplin' joint, right?"

"Right!"

Kaylee picked up a set of wire shears and passed her new friend a small hydrospanner, skin thrilling with sparks where their hands touched. She forced herself to focus on the work, which went smooth as you please; but there remained a part of her that couldn't wait to finish the repairs, and she had a big goofy smile on her face the whole time.

It took less than half as long to complete the job as she'd initially thought it would. Many hands made light work, and Ellis' were particularly skilled – a fact that did not escape her. She practically threw all the tools back into her kit, and invited the local in for a drink even as she dragged him up the cargo ramp by his arm. He followed willingly, staring around at the ship's insides as Kaylee closed the garage door and led him up the stairs to the kitchen.

"Yer th' only one keepin' this beauty runnin'?" he asked, trying to look everywhere at once.

"I'm the only one knows my way 'round her engine, that's for sure," she laughed, dropping her toolbox on the table. "Til you came along, anyway!"

Another wave of heat crossed the scarred bridge of Ellis' nose. Kaylee beamed at him as she poured out two glasses of quadruple-distilled recycled water and gestured amiably at a chair. He sat, awkward to an impossibly endearing degree, and nodded gratefully as he accepted the beverage.

"Thank ya kindly, Miss Kaylee," he said with a slightly shyer version of his brilliant grin. His host fluttered her eyes at him over the rim of her glass.

"Aw, now what's it gonna take so you quit callin' me all respectable-like?"

She felt butterflies fill her belly, watching him nearly spit water from his nose. That faint blush was getting a lot stronger under her flirtatious hazel eyes, and she knew she had him wrapped 'round her little finger like a tight-coil spring. Every nerve in her body wanted him wrapped 'round the rest of her, too.

"I, uh... Well, gosh, I... My momma raised me up ta be respec'ful... Um, that is, I only jus' metcha an'..."

"Ain't no point in dancin' 'round fancy manners when we ain't got the time to finish all the steps," Kaylee purred indulgently, leaning forward and putting her drink aside. "_Serenity_'s only in port 'til tomorrow morning..."

Before their lips made contact she saw his hesitant blue eyes light up like thrusters at hard burn. In an instant he took her invitation enthusiastically, meeting her halfway across the gap between them to firmly lock their mouths together. Kaylee hummed in delight – he tasted even better than she'd imagined. She gleefully surrendered to his control, but gave as good as she got as their tongues twined hot around each other. Ellis' kiss filled her head with rainbow light, warm fuzz and the pounding rush of blood in her ears. When he gently pulled away she nearly swooned right into his arms.

"_Serenity_... Th' ship's name's almost as pretty as yers," he rumbled, voice rough with want even as the lines of his face betrayed a lingering uncertainty.

If there was a single part of her that hadn't fallen already, that utterance cinched it. Kaylee forced her wobbling legs to stand, grabbed Ellis by the wrist and urgently marched them off to the back of the ship. She saw his sapphire eyes go wide when they got to the engine room, and smiled seductively as she posed by the sleeping machinery.

"Like whatcha see, honey?"

He nearly bowled her over in his passion. She experienced a brief moment of smug satisfaction before his body overcame everything else, smelling of grease and sweat and showing off the damn sexiest abs you ever saw. Kaylee felt the port hydraulics cool against her bare back as they went down, and threw herself into ecstasy with a joyful exclamation.

"Ah, _Ellis..._!"

* * *

><p>"How fast do we have to skedaddle this time, captain?" Wash asked over the intercom as the rest of the crew trooped aboard. Zoe answered, since Mal was too busy being proud of himself to bother.<p>

"We don't, hon," she said, a smile in her voice. "You and Kaylee can get some fresh air now."

Up on the bridge the pilot grinned, bounced out of his seat and responded happily.

"Shiny! I'll go get our grease monkey, be right down!"

Wash shrugged off the top of his jumpsuit and tied the arms around his waist, sauntering brightly along the metal catwalk to the aft of the ship – but when he approached the door he stopped dead. His bleached eyebrows rocketed straight up as his mouth pursed into a shocked, knowing "O." With exaggerated movements he turned on a dime and waltzed back down the hall, trying desperately not to laugh.

In the cargo bay his odd behavior did not go unnoticed.

"Where's Kaylee?" his wife asked, kissing him affectionately on the cheek. He cleared his throat noisily, and glanced to the side as though a spot on the floor was profoundly interesting.

"She's... not going on shore leave today."

"Oh?" Mal glanced up from counting their pay. "Why not? It's mighty fine weather for this time of year."

Wash couldn't help a half-grin from creeping across his face.

"She's got... um, maintenance to do. Lots of it. Likely take quite a while."

Mal fully broke from his task to peer keenly into the pilot's face. Zoe caught his drift almost immediately; Jayne took a little longer, but started sniggering lecherously soon enough. The captain had a hard time keeping a straight face, and eventually gave up.

"Oh. Right. _Maintenance._"


End file.
